South M3s have a potentially big few months ahead over the 2017 winter, as we look to turn a five point Christmas advantage at the top of Division 5NW into promotion. We had a chance to get ourselves up to speed for that against Shefford & Sandy M3s, who it turned out were in exactly the same position in 7SW!

Our team included a welcome return to the action for Jack Chalk after nearly a year out with an injury sustained in an M1s game. It also had Matt Smith up from the M4s as he could only make half their game. Both good players to have on board, but it didn’t exactly balance things out positionally as we had ended up with a keeper, three defenders, seven midfielders and two forwards! No matter, thought the skipper. We’ll just try playing 3-5-2 today…

Bad idea. That was partly down to Shefford’s formation, with one high and two wingers pushing on leaving ‘sweeper’ Dave more as centre-back Dave and giving us no cover; partly down to the hosts sprightly play; but also because we have never practiced this formation so players looked a little lost. S&S exploited our hesitancy to have the better of the opening fifteen minutes, during which they took a deserved lead. Indeed they could have had more but for some key saves from George, including one with his stick as well as a one-on-one block, and a few last gasp interceptions and tackles from scrambling defenders.

As the half progressed we came more into it, including one goalmouth scramble where we seemed certain to score only for the ball to trickle agonisingly along the goalline and then be smuggled away. There was also a shortie with Dave’s shot rebounding off the keeper to Rob, whose follow-up was cleared off the line in dramatic style by a home defender. However the consensus at half-time was the experiment with formation had been tried and found wanting: let’s go back to something more familiar. But who to put into defence? Joe volunteered, and it didn’t even require arm-twisting to get him to do it…

We looked more balanced and settled from the outset of the second-half. Our attacks became much more frequent and home forays were now only sporadic and nowhere near as threatening as they had been in the first period. Two players in particular stood out, one at either end of the field. For Shefford it was their keeper, who made a string of saves, dives, kicks, stick clearances, the lot. The other was Joe, who looked like a natural defender as he kept the hosts' centre-forward well under wraps.

The equaliser it felt like our play deserved was proving elusive. Until, that is, a ball in from the right from Jan was worked on by Rob to Max. The keeper got something on Max’s shot but not enough to stop it squirming past him, where it fell perfectly for JJ to tap into the unguarded net from a range of seven inches. Or rather, for JJ to wind up and absolutely smash into the backboard with thunderous force from a range of seven inches.

The match was now stretched as two confident teams, both used to winning, went searching for the deciding goal. Each would have a major chance to get it. The first opportunity went to Shefford, their forward peeling into the left channel and sneaking a shot past George, only to see Joe sweeping round behind his keeper to collect on the goalline and take it to safety. Then it was our turn, JJ and Jack working a move down the left which ended with Matt just unable to reach out far enough to get sufficient purchase on Jack’s ball across the face of goal (think Gazza vs Germany in 1996).

It ended with honours even and Joe, ever willing, heading over to the sideline to pad up as goalkeeper for the M4s in their friendly directly afterwards. Whataguy!